What must be one of the most astonishing and hair-raising stories ever brought to the screen is unfolded in MGM 's fantastic new science-fiction horror thriller, "The Green Slime."

With Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel and Luciana Paluzzi heading a large cast, this is a picture which will hold the spectator rooted to the edge of his seat as he views one spectacular thrill after the other in a drama in which spacemen of the future encounter slimy green creatures on an Asteroid the like of which have never been conceived before.

The story begins with the panic that ensues at the United Nations Space Authority when it is discovered that an Asteroid which has steered out of orbit is heading for a fatal collision with Earth. The only way the collision can be avoided is to blow the Asteroid up from the space station, Gamma III.

Jack Rankin (Robert Horton) is assigned the mission of taking over

Gamma III, despite the friction

between Rankin and the space station's commander, Vince Elliot (Richard Jaeckel), both of whom are in love with Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi), a doctor stationed on Gamma III.

Rankin and his men are shot up to Gamma III and from there land on the Asteroid. While explosives are being set, Doctor 1-lalvorsen explores the Asteroid and comes upon a swamp containing a gruesome, jelly-like green substance which seems to be alive. When he rejoins the others, some of this substance, unknown to him, has adhered to his clothing.

Working against a perilous time limit, Rankin and his spacemen are able to get away from the Asteroid just in time before it is blown to smithereens, and return to Gamma III, where their uniforms are placed in a cleansing chamber to be decontaminized.

But now Halvorsen makes a startling discovery. The gruesome substance which had adhered to his uniform has become activated and has blown itself up into a frightful monster with serpent-like appendages. And now it attacks Halvorsen and kills him.

Rankin shoots the mysterious and horrible creature only to find that the drops of blood which it emits soon evolve into separate monsters. Soon there is a whole group of them, and further shooting is useless since the more they kill, the more will emerge from the drops of blood!

How this fantastic dilemma is resolved in the staggering climax of "The Green Slime" makes for escapist drama that is as enthralling and exciting as it is entertaining. This is a "shock" movie that really gets under your skin.

"The Green Slime" is the result of brilliant collaboration. Ivan Reiner and Walter H. Manley are the producers; Kinji Fukasaku the director; and three writers collaborated on the screenplay - Charles Sinclair, William Finger and Tom Rowe.

Filmed in color in Japan, this remarkable science-fiction picture owes much of its taut and gripping impact to the imaginative photography of Yoshikazu Yamasawa, who has captured the story's horror scenes with frightening intensity.